Atlas Shrugged
A brief look and review of Ayn Rand's hallmark novel "Atlas Shrugged"
Rand, in a romantic thrilling novel, expounds upon the ideas and principles of free-market capitalism. Through her characters and story, she highlights the virtues and truths of human happiness being found in usefulness and productivity; earning one's happiness through one's work but also through embracing their desires rather than condemning them. As she writes in her postscript:
“My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only absolute.”
I appreciate the detail and depth Rand goes through with each of her characters, their stories, and most importantly, the virtue or vice they each represent. She certainly does well weaving in her philosophies and view upon productive achievement in crafting each of her characters.
However, it’s also worth pointing out that the character creation and development is one of my main criticisms of Rand's novels. Her characters, other than Hank Rearden, seem to represent only one overarching virtue.... with John Galt encompassing all of the great virtues and vision of what man can/should be. I believe characters, (as with human beings) should be portrayed and seen as much more complex.
As Solzhenitsyn's famous proverb goes:
"The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart."
Every person in this world has that battle of good and evil within them. One of the main drawbacks to Rand's novels is that some of her characters do not reflect that certain truth.
Nevertheless, Rand is a serious thinker, philosopher, and deep writer. I admire her level of work, overall view of human potential, and her master work with Atlas Shrugged. There are certainly disagreements I have throughout the novel in regard to her dichotomies of men of “mystics” and men of “muscle.” She seems to categorize extremely variant ideas, beliefs, and religions into only being certain groups of people… Whereas it seems to me, that many people are both “mystics” and virtuous in their own ways. The tributes to Aristotle throughout also do not disappoint.
Dalton Peters enjoys reading, writing, and discussing big ideas. He loves the Lord, God Almighty. Follow him on Substack to read more pieces like this. If you’re willing, share with someone you know!
Friday, December 20, 2024